important

Will the big tent hold? The president-elect called for Thanksgiving unity the day after tapping South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for U.N. ambassador, Republican fundraiser Betsy DeVos for education secretary, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson for Housing and Urban Development. All three opposed Donald Trump during the primary, and Haley and Carson are members of racial minorities. Trump’s been less keen on outreach to the intelligence community, spurning most daily briefings. But he reportedly found time to praise his Turkish business partner in a call with the country’s president.

Team of Rivals

As many as 67 died, according to Chinese state media, when a cooling-tower platform at a power station in Jiangxi province collapsed, burying scores of people in debris. Dozens of fire trucks and hundreds of soldiers rushed to the scene to rescue the wounded, who were working on a $1.1 billion construction project to add coal-fired units to the plant. This is just the latest in a long string of deadly industrial accidents in China, as workers and their advocates clamor for stricter safety standards and better protections.

Collapse

To be clear: Jill Stein didn’t secretly win. With Hillary Clinton’s popular vote lead growing, some on the left have called for a vote audit in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump narrowly won, and Michigan, which is still too close to call. Clinton’s gone quiet, but Stein’s campaign, citing “significant discrepancies in vote totals” promised to seek a recount — and got $2.2 million in donations to fund it within 24 hours. Experts warn it probably won’t change the election results, but say audits should be automatic for security reasons.

Making Sure

They’re cutting back on the cuts. In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, Britain’s Treasury chief Philip Hammond said Brexit will mean an additional $152 billion in government borrowing by 2021, and that economic growth, while “resilient,” would likely slow. For now, the U.K. will focus on borrowing, rather than cutting public spending even further, leading Labour politicians to crow about the admission that austerity measures aren’t working. Meanwhile, Conservative lawmakers derided what they called unnecessary negativity, and Hammond admitted an “unusually high degree of uncertainty” in post-Brexit forecasts.

Pound Foolish

Know This: Thanksgiving Day football game turns deadly in Louisville. Suicide bomb kills 70 Shia pilgrims in Iraq, Israeli wildfires force tens of thousands to evacuate, Donald Trump Jr. reportedly held private high-level talks last month on cooperating with Russia in Syria. European Parliament President Martin Schulz has announced he’ll run for office in Germany. And one watchdog claims Nigerian security forces have killed 150 peaceful protesters.

Read This: As Americans prepare for a national feast, find out about America’s first celebrity chef — an Indian immigrant — and other flavors that have shaped contemporary U.S. food.

Drink This: Check out OZY’s recipe for a Bloody Mary, in case you need some liquid courage to face your family this year.

Briefly

intriguing

It’s more than food and football. Before we pass the stuffing, today is the day to reflect on what we’re thankful for — especially after what has been an exhausting and trying year for so many. Among other things, OZY’s Tribe is thankful for coffee, yoga, walks in the woods, frequent flier miles, Mars, food trucks, the Oxford comma, the Michael Phelps face, a beloved penguin onesie — oh, and friends and family and good health. Read on to see our full list and tell us what you’re thankful for.

Giving Thanks

Big Brother is everywhere. The U.K. is about to become one of the most sophisticated surveillance states in history with the Investigatory Powers Bill, which only awaits the Queen’s approval to become law. Also known as the Snooper’s Charter, the bill legalizes global surveillance of web and phone traffic, and takes the unprecedented move of recording every U.K. resident’s web history, letting police access the data without warrants. It could also force tech companies to share and decrypt user data under gag orders, which means the public may never even know.

Eyes on Me

They’re riding the peaks. Titans of Mavericks, the legendary invitation-only big-wave surfing competition, is holding a women’s heat for the first time. Six female surfers will compete at the surf mecca south of San Francisco, where the waves are notoriously treacherous, reaching heights of 100 feet between dangerous rock formations, and the chilly waters are often infested with sharks. The competition, with a cash prize of $30,000, could happen any time between now and March 31: It will be called as soon as the conditions are right.

Surf's Up

Here’s something to talk about. Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Jason Mraz and others will stage a benefit concert Sunday to draw attention to Standing Rock, where 2,500 protesters, many from local tribes, have clashed with police while trying to block the North Dakota-to-Illinois pipeline. Authorities have reportedly fired projectiles and turned water cannons on protesters in below-freezing weather. The Obama administration delayed the $3.7 billion project to give the company time to negotiate with the tribes, but Raitt’s calling on the president to shut it down.

Lending Voices

It’s a feast. Some years are tough turkey, but all of the teams playing today are above .500 and division races are on the line. The Vikings and Lions kick the day off as Detroit QB Matthew Stafford could try to work his comeback magic again. The Cowboys and Redskins, bitter rivals, are both surging as Washington must slow down super-rookie RB Ezekiel Elliott. But a concussion has sidelined Colts QB Andrew Luck for their showdown against the Steelers, so the nightcap might send you into a food coma.